Rating: 
Summary: Opens your eyes to a whole new industry!
Review: For starters, this book has a great plot, character base and some wonderful twists and surprises throughout. The thing I'll remember from this book is the in-depth description of the used book industry. Since I finished it, I haven't been able to drive by a book store without wondering what treasures might lie inside. This book might end up costing me a lot of money, but it could help me make a lot too!
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining start for a series I hope continues.
Review: I love detective novels, and this is a good one! The premise of a bookman/former cop is entertaining, and Cliff Janeway is great. Not as flip and sarcastic as Spenser, not as James-Bondish as Travis McGee, not as cynical as Dave Robicheaux. A sensitive new age guy with testosterone. I want more!!
Rating:
Summary: Double Your Pleasure
Review: Author John Dunning has written Booked To Die on two levels. There is the more or less standard murder and subsequent sifting through clues to find the murderer. There is also a subplot in which Dunning takes us behind the scenes into the world of rare and first edition book collecting. While following Detective Cliff Janeway in his quest to nail a sadistic Jackie Newton, we learn such facts as which 99-cent remainder on a chain store sales table now sells for $200, and which book recently found in a used book store for $15 sold at auction for more than $250,000. Throughout, Dunning keeps us intrigued with surprise twists. He rhetorically asks in the prologue, "Who would kill a harmless old man like that? I'll tell you why. Then I'll tell you who." He does just that. Along the way we learn much more than simply why and who. Aside from the interesting side trips into the book collectors world, Booked To Die is somewhat conventional. It is strictly plot-driven, with only a modicum of character development, except for Janeway, who develos nicely before our eyes. There may be a bit too much question-amd-answer, which can become monotonous. (What time did you get there? Who was there?) Such dialogue advances the story, but slows the action. Dunning, through his protagonist, also shows us a cynical side. Whoring, he points out, starts in the Statehouse, where they know how to do it without ever getting into bed. And he philsophically ponders the difficulty of looking back over 20 years and wondering why the boys we were then did things so much at odds with the attitudes and philosophies of the men we had become. Between his insights into the book collectors world and his unquestioned writing skills Dunning here gives us a most pleasant interlude. Mystery fans will be kept guessing, and bibliophiles will love it. It is gratifying to note that the sequel, The Bookman's Wake, with Detective Janeway hot on the trail, is already in the bookstores.
Rating: 
Summary: Should interest anyone who cares about the bookworld
Review: Since I haven't read widely in this genre, I may not be qualified to assess this book as detective fiction. But the story kept me turning the pages and the insight into the world of rare book dealers was worth the price of the book. If you care anything about books as objects, this one is worth your time and money. I would have rated it higher except that it seemed cliche-ridden and the characters were somewhat stereotyped. But it was good enough entertainment that I plan to start the sequel immediately.
Rating: 
Summary: As an ex-bookseller gives this book 10 stars!
Review: As an ex-bookseller and collector of first editions, I can only say that Janeaway is just the kind of bookseller you'd love to buy books from! Dunning has obviously doen his homework on the booktrade and I can only keep my fingers crossed that this will turn in a multi-volume series!
Rating:
Summary: a really different mystery that will have you hooked
Review: I read this book when it first came out and have since read all of John's books. I thought this book was fabulous and it got me really interested in collecting first editions. The characters are really well written and it is one of those few books that you rush through because you can't wait to find out what will happen next but then you really try to stretch it out because you just do not want it to end. This is a first class mystery!
Rating:
Summary: I loved every page of it!
Review: This is one of the smartest, most well written mysteries I have ever had the pleasure of reading. John Dunning gives us one the most exciting characters in a long time. I have read this book twice, and will probably read it again!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful mystery that kept me riveted.
Review: This is one of the best mysteries I've ever read. It was very well-written. The pace was good, I liked and understood the main character, and it even through a couple of zingers at me, a dedicated mystery reader. Also, while I can't bring myself to spend the kind of money on books that they deal with in this book, I have a better understanding of the book collector mentality. I will definitely read more of his books.
Rating:
Summary: Book lovers' favorite!
Review: If this book doesn't make you want to collect
first editions, nothing will.
Rating:
Summary: The house in which I grew up was part of the story.
Review: I grew up in the house across from the 7-11 at 12th and Madison Mr. Dunning refers to. I read "Booked to Die" when it first came out and loved it, and I'm hoping to find a used copy for my collection. It is excellent, and I don't usually like mysteries. A bizarre experience indeed to have scenes from a book take place in your old neighborhood
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